10 Jan 3. In the Additional Resources

Class Meeting 6: Reflection Essay

(Please note you will need to read the Strengths-Based

Leadership book to complete this assignment.)

1. “What great leaders have in common is that each truly knows his or her strengths…” (Rath &

Conchie, 2008). List your top five strengths as determined by the StrengthsFinder 2.0. Do

you agree with this assessment? Why or why not? For example, which of the five describes

you best? Is there one that surprised you? Are you currently in a job that utilizes your

strengths? Explain.

2. Re-read the section of Strengths-Based Leadershipthat addresses the four basic needs of

followers. Evaluate yourself on how well you provide each of these to your followers (even

better, also ask an employee or a co-worker to evaluate you). Which come easily to you and

which do you need to improve on in order to meet your followers’ needs? Practically

speaking, how can you do this?

3. In the Additional Resources section of the book, strategies for leading in a way that meets

followers’ four basic needs are presented. (Note: You only need to read the pages that

address your top five strengths.) Do any of these suggestions resonate with you? Which

strategies do you believe would make the biggest impact if you implemented them at work?

4. According to Rath and Conchie, how are team members typically selected? Why is this

problematic? What do leaders need to understand to build an effective team? Use the chart

on page 24 (How the 34 themes sort into the four domains of leadership strength) to identify

what you bring to a team. For example, do your strengths fall primarily into one category or

are they spread out over several? Are you actively and consistently using your strengths on

your team? Explain. Is your team balanced (i.e., are all four domains covered or are

everyone’s strengths in the same one or two categories)? Discuss. Remember, individuals

don’t need to be well-rounded, but teams do.